Focal Point
by Vryheid
Summary: The bond between a Flareon and her trainer is tested as they are dragged into a conspiracy which could reshape the world of Pokemon forever. Pokemon POV.
1. Chapter 1

What can I say about dedicating one's life to another that has not already been said? You of the wild with your forests and untouched plains may look down on me, but there is a strength and fulfillment in this bond, which burns brighter than the fiery heart of Cinnabar Island. To the humans you are merely "wild Pokemon", but with a trainer I have found one who calls me friend. I will continue to protect and aid him so we might better understand each other and ourselves.

That is how we begin- walking- down the overgrows hills of Unova Route 7. A mazelike mass of bushes, brambles and grass seems to extend across the entirety of the clearing, easily reaching well above my line of sight. What is left of the "road" mainly consists of worn patches of dirt skirting along the edge of this mass and a thick wall of pine trees flanking us on the opposite side. I wonder if plant creatures played any part in this, enriching the grass to grow so fast that the humans simply gave up on trying to trim it back.

Master towers over me, but he does not notice most of the hordes of wild creatures slipping through the undergrowth. I do not see them either, but their stench wafts through my nose like a Gloom's petal drippings. Creatures are slower and more rugged in these parts than those in Kanto, but no less dangerous. For that reason I am constantly scouting around as we travel. Out of the corner of my eye I notice a group of wild Deerling peering at us from further into the forest. I am prepared to incinerate any that stray too close.

"Hey, hold on a minute, Rose," Master says. He pulls out a small book from his back pocket and begins flipping through the pages. "Strange, isn't it? According to the guidebook, wild Purrloin normally don't live along this route. What do you think could have driven them this far north?" Humans have a strange habit of asking questions that those they are talking with cannot possibly know the answer to. I do not understand why this is, but I wonder if we might be investigating these creatures further.

As we move further down the road it is easy to make out small groups of the purple tinged felines horsing around and grooming each other in the forest undergrowth. Every time we get remotely near one it bounds off further into the woods. The seem utterly unperturbed by our existence but determined to completely avoid us none the less.

"Well, I did want to catch a souvenir before I left. Think Claire would like one as a present?" Master asks me.

I consider it for a moment and then nod my head. Claire is one of Master's human friends, and he sometimes gives her gifts that he collects. She does not travel anywhere nearly as much as Master, but she likes to take care of creatures from other regions. I do not think a small cat would be too difficult for her to handle, though it could potentially be more dangerous if it evolved.

"Alright, well, if you wouldn't mind bringing one over here I can handle the rest," Master says.

I signal Master to move back a bit, then scout around for the nearest group of Purrloin. They do not notice me as I slink silently into a nearby bush. Here I flatten myself as low to the ground as possible, hoping the lack of sunlight overhead will make up for the poor camouflage of my reddish fur. Motionless as a rock, I wait for the Purrloin to leave themselves exposed.

The closest Purrloin to me has his back turned to me and begins casually grooming its paws. My gut tells me that this is the time to strike. I dash in a wide arc towards the Purrloin, taking as few steps as possible. The others immediately scatter as soon as they hear me, but the one I am chasing is caught in a moment of confusion as it spins around and does not see me coming from the side. That moment is all I need. I close in the gap and quickly tackle it to the floor, pinning its arms down with my paws. The other Purrloin have long since vanished.

Keeping the Purrloin down is easy enough because of my superior size and body weight. It squirms around for several seconds, squealing, before finally giving in and glaring at me with a look of utter contempt. I pick up the creature by the scruff of the neck and begin to carry it back to Master. Hissing, the creature futilely attempts to scratch at me with his slender purple arms. No doubt the creature thought it was becoming dinner. Against another Flareon it might have been right.

"Flar, flarRE-on. _Flar_eon." I growl, my voice slightly muffled by the Purrloin's fur. ("Do as the human says, or I will tear out your throat.")

I do not like to lump Master in with the _other _humans, but I want to make sure that there are no misunderstandings when dealing with these ignorant wild younglings. I bite down on it just a little harder than necessary to reemphasize the point. Arriving back at Master's feet, I drop the Purrloin in front of him. I take my position beside him, but prepare to spring the instant the creature tries to escape.

"Great job Rose, it looks like this one's a keeper," Master says. With a warm smile and outstretched palm, he tries beckoning to the frightened kit. "Well hey there little fella. Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you. My name is Mitchell, what's yours?"

"Purr... loin?" it meows in wide eyed confusion. It glances at me nervously, backing up slowly. I flex my claws deliberately, as if daring the Purrloin to make any sudden movements. To its credit it decides to stay put, but its expression becomes more panic stricken with each passing moment.

Master sighs and pulls his hand back, clearly disappointed at not getting a more positive response. He reaches into his right pocket and picks out a small purple sphere. "Well, hopefully we'll get to know each other better back at the hotel. Just hold on little guy, this won't hurt a bit." He taps a small white button on the front of the ball and tosses it out in front of him.

The Purrloin jumps back, but is quickly bathed by a red light which pours from the sphere. The creature is sucked into the ball, which shakes for a few seconds before finally coming to a rest. Briefly I think that moment when I was a young Eevee all those moons ago, excited and nervous, facing that same gut wrenching sensation of being pulled to the Other Place for the very first time.

Master puts the ball away and kneels down to scratch me under the neck. I can't help but nuzzle him in return. I do not understand everything he does, but I love when he reminds me that he can depend on me and that he treats me as a friend rather than a tool. I have seen other humans who want to catch every other creature they come across, then stuff them in a "storage box" and never even let most of them leave the Other Place to walk around in the open air. Master is not like that. He saved me from the bad people a long time ago and we've worked together as partners ever since.

A ringing noise sounds from Master's pocket. Continuing to pet my fur he pulls out a small black box. He looks at the black box and burrows his eyebrows. I can sense that he is annoyed, even if he doesn't want to show it.

"I'm sorry Rose, just give me a moment," Master whispers to me. He puts the box up to his ear and begins speaking into it. "Mitchell speaking. What's happening?"

I have seen Master use the black box before. He says he can talk to far away people with it, even without sight or touch between them. I do not doubt him, but he has let me listen to it before and the voices did not make any sense. Master says that it is different for humans, something about "supersonic waves" and how non-humans communicate. I do not understand this, but I do not mind too much. I would rather not listen to this talk that Master often finds so upsetting.

"Are you serious? What the hell was he thinking going down there alone?"

Master starts gently petting me on the back. There is something comforting about his touch that washes away any fear or discomfort. I feel that his fingers are cold, though, so I heat up my skin ever so slightly to warm him back up. It is not a particularly difficult trick, but Master seems quite proud when I do so. Sometimes he jokingly calls me his "personal space heater" because of it.

"Damn. Well, my Flareon isn't much of a fighter, I don't think-"

I pretend not to hear this last part. Master tells me that sometimes he purposely does not tell the truth to avoid people getting hurt. But I know that I am much stronger than I was as an Eevee, and I have won plenty of battles in the past. Part of me wishes he did not have to worry so much.

"Yes, yes, I know. Alright. We were already headed back to Mistralton, so we'll be inbound to Kanto on the next available flight. Meet me at my office at 2:30 tomorrow and we'll get this settled."

With the conversation over we continue along the path. At times the grass is so heavy that it seems like a dead end. Apparently the humans built narrow wooden walkways over these parts, but the effort in balancing on top of them seems ridiculous to the both of us. It is much easier for me to simply burn a path through with Flamethrower. Eventually the plant life begins to clear and I can see some of the human nests climbing up over the horizon. However, glancing back up I am unable to feel entirely at ease.

Master's hands are trembling.


	2. Chapter 2

Master and I are resting in our human den- what he calls a hotel room- both sitting on a large comfy bed and watching one of the strange speaking boxes. Master has strange names for all these objects, but it is hard to memorize them all. I try to come up with something similar that I can actually say, but I feel like I get them wrong most of the time. Even the words coming out of the speaking box do not make sense, but I can still pick up bits and pieces of what the different creatures are trying to say. Master says it should be easier to understand than the calling box because I can actually see the creatures who are talking. I do not understand why this would make it easier or harder at all, but as long as Master wants to watch it, I am happy to keep him company.

"Just some videos of old myths, Rose. More like bad science fiction if you ask me," Master tells me with a hint of amusement, clearly ignoring what the image on the speaking box is saying.

I do not know what "science fiction" is or why Master is watching it, but he obviously wants some company. I curl up next to him and invite him to pet my fur. We both enjoy it, though Master is careful not to touch the fluffy lighter collar of fur around my neck for too long. The last time he tried to, his hand became injured. Master blamed himself for not knowing how Flareon cooled off their bodies. I still felt bad, because I was not fully aware of this myself.

"Now according to this so called researcher, a long time ago humans and Pokemon were all just different types of animals- like there really wasn't any difference between them, except of course humans still had towns and civilization and whatnot."

It is strange sometimes, living as one with fire. Even I as an older Eevee I was afraid of the flames, as the bad humans used to burn me sometimes before Master came along. When I evolved I no longer was hurt by the flames, nor any other kind of heat. This was very strange to me at first, and I did not know how far I could push this ability. I found later that I could even walk in molten lava without the slightest injury, which amazed me as much as it did Master. Unfortunately this also means that it is almost impossible for me to tell when my body or the heat around me is dangerous for humans. What if our den caught on fire while I was sleeping, and I did not even notice until the roof collapsed on top of us?

"Bacterial infections were extremely common back then, so humans had to constantly make new medicine to stay healthy. Unfortunately, the diseases just kept getting stronger and stronger in the process."

I have only ever met one or two other Flareon in the wild. Even when we last visited Cinnabar Island with Master and his friend, I did not see any other Flareon living near the volcano. I wonder if I ever met a colony of them, would I want to live with them to see what it was like? Would I want to know how a Flareon is supposed to behave? Part of me is curious, but I cannot leave Master. At this point I am closer to him than even the other fire creatures I have met in our travels.

"Eventually, one disease mutated so far out of control that it threatened to start mass extinctions of countless complex organisms on the planet. "

I stretch out my front arms and start grooming them slowly. The rich scent of the boxed dinner Master is eating is difficult to ignore, so instead I think about the occasional pattering of footsteps below me. The Purrloin Master had caught earlier ran under the bed the instant he let it out, and I was left wondering why it continued to move around down there if it was so bent on hiding.

"So a group of humans went deep underground and froze themselves in cryrogenic stasis for millions of years, while most of Pokemon on the surface died out..."

Master offers me a portion of the meat he is eating, but I shake my head in refusal. That is not to say I would not enjoy it. Human food is better than it sounds, for the most part- I just do not understand why they feel the need to put strange liquids and plant bits all over their meals. It seems to me like good scraps of meat should taste just fine without any toppings. I do not want to seem picky, either, it is just that I know Master would find his meal much more appetizing than I would.

"Can you believe this? They don't even tell you how the story ends. Or what evidence they used, for that matter. As if they can just pull this all out of a hat."

This much of the story I can make out, Master apparently does not believe what the pictures of the humans are saying. I would not trust a picture of a human either, it seems strange to listen to something that is clearly fake.

"Flare, Flareeeon Flar-flareon?" I ask him. ("Why are you watching it, then?") Humans only seem to really understand the voice of other humans, but Master usually understands most of what I am trying to say through my tone of voice and body language. For whatever strange reason, there rarely seems to be any difficulty the other way around.

"To be honest, Rose, I don't know why the boss gave me this. It has nothing to do with what we're researching. It's just a bunch of..." Master trails off and sighs. Is that a tone of regret I sense?

Part of me starts to wonder what he was trying to say, but then he starts scratching behind my ears and my concerns wash away. Of all the perks of having a human companion, this is probably the best of the bunch. Whenever Master gets rid of those infuriating itches behind my neck and ears I am practically reduced to purring like a naïve little kitten, and this is no exception. It is somewhat embarrassing, but if Arceus wanted me to be able to scratch there myself then I should have been given longer claws.

"Hey, uh, you mind checking if that Purrloin is alright?" Master asks, nudging me slightly.

I give a bit of a depressed whimper but slowly flex my body upwards, easily jumping to the floor in a single leap. I wanted to cuddle up there some more, but I know that Master is right in that I am the only one of us who can fit under the bedframe. I can see the Purrloin huddled up against the wall, glaring at me as I inch forward. Suddenly I see its arm twitch and I stop, not wanting it to try to attack me. For a few seconds we simply stare silently at each other, neither one of us clearly wanting to be under here.

("You should come out, little one. Master wants to meet you,") I tell the Purrloin, trying to sound gentle. I wait a few seconds for a response. Silence.

("My name is Flareon. I am not going to hurt you. There is no reason to be afraid-")

("You said you were going to kill me!") the Purrloin growled angrily.

("I did not mean it. I only said it so you would not run away.")

The Purrloin visibly relaxes a little but doesn't stop watching my every move. It obviously is confused and scared. I might try to move a little closer to the creature to comfort it a little were it not so cramped down here. However, the thought of being the target of several nasty claw gashes without any room to dodge did not sound appealing. I would have to take some verbal initiative.

("Purrloin, hiding down here is not going to help you,") I begin slowly. Being explicit about all of this seems like the only option at this point. ("Master wants to help you. He can give you food and warmth and a comfortable nest to sleep on. Treat him like the alpha of your pack and this will all go much easier for you.")

("The alpha... pack?") the Purrloin responds, glancing around nervously. Suddenly its voice became more agitated. ("Do you think I am some dumb Lillipup? I do not need to be led around by a two legged monster just to survive!")

I growl in frustration and realize that debating with the creature was quickly turning futile. Being able to interpret other species is not very useful if they will not even listen to common sense. What is wrong with having a pack leader anyways?

As I turn to crawl out from under the bed I hear the Purrloin again call after me, this time sounding more confused than angry. ("W...wait...") it meowed. (" It is strange, but... I do not feel scared about any of this for some reason. I do not even feel angry that I was taken away from my nest.") A twinge of fear. ("Is... is something wrong with me?")

I pause for a few seconds. Did the Purrloin really not realize what had happened to it? I suppose that it might not, but I feel a twinge of guilt as I realize I could be setting up the creature for an emotional crisis. But it had to be done. ("You were pulled through to the Other Place, in an object the humans call a pocket ball,") I explain, coming up with the closest phrase to the nonsense language Master uses for a capture tool. ("When you first go to the Other Place, you mentally bond with the human who catches you. It does not change who you are, but it makes being with a Master easier to accept.")

I knew this would give the Purrloin much to think about, so for a while we were silent as I let my explanation sink in. Perhaps it was all lost on him. Almost all creatures with humans did not seem to care about how the pocket balls actually worked, but it was something I found interesting to look at.

Suddenly, I hear a voice above me. "Rose, are you alright down there?" says Master. I give a yip of approval. "Alright, just let me know if you need anything. Our friend's food is getting cold, you know."

The Purrloin now had a rather curious expression. ("The human called you Rose,") it says. ("I thought you said your name is Flareon.")

I swish my tail in amusement. ("I am both Rose and Flareon,") I respond. ("Humans like to give special names to others close to them. So Master calls me Rose, because I am special to him and different than other Flareon.") I could not know whether this is what Master really thought, but I wanted to believe that way. Suddenly an idea strikes me. ("You can call me Rose too, if you would like...")

I sense surprise from the Purrloin, as if I had said something profound. Did it think I was crazy? Perhaps it might, but at least when Master's friend starts caring for it I do not have to worry about dealing with the creature anymore.

And then it was my turn to be surprised, as the Purrloin trembled and took a few steps forwards. ("I...") it began hesitantly. ("I would like a special name as well, if you do not mind...")

Inwardly, I smiled. ("Come and meet Master then, I will see what I can do,") I respond. After nodding at the way I had crawled in, I slowly push myself back out.

To my relief, this time the Purrloin decides to follow.


End file.
